IN KUALA LUMPUR

THE announcement seemed innocuous enough. From next year, Malaysian students can only take a maximum of 10 subjects for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations, Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said last week.
 
For one, it shouldn't affect too many people. Nine out of 10 students here don't take so many papers for this examination anyway, which is the equivalent of the O-levels in Singapore.
 
But the news has swiftly stirred up controversy, with as many people supporting the move as those opposing it.
 
On Tan Sri Muhyiddin's side are people who feel that Malaysians have gone exam-crazy in the pursuit of excellence. It was only in recent years that teenagers have taken to piling on subjects, with some taking as many as 20.
 
Previously, the average was around eight or nine, similar to the number of O-level subjects that Singaporean students take.
 
On the other side are those who feel that restricting the number of subjects means stifling the ability of the bright students. If someone is capable of taking more than 10 subjects, they argue, there should be no reason to stop them from fulfilling their full potential.
 
Underscoring this issue, however, is the awarding of the prestigious Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships for universities, which are based on SPM results.
 
The subject of the scholarship is the key reason for this move, as Mr Muhyiddin said that limiting the number of subjects will eradicate the controversy surrounding the awarding of the scholarships every year.
 
He did not elaborate on how this will work, but the annual brouhaha over the SPM is very real.
 
When the SPM results are announced every year, there are always disgruntled parents airing their views in the media, upset that their child didn't get a scholarship despite scoring, say, 15 A's, when someone else with 9 A's snagged one.
 
The students who take many subjects in the SPM no doubt hope that this will get them greater recognition in the race for these prestigious scholarships.
 
It may give them some leverage, but by now it should have become obvious that it certainly doesn't guarantee the scholarship.
 
For the Malaysian government, the SPM results presents a tricky situation because the issue carries a racial element — many non-Bumiputeras claim that they are unfairly passed over, because 60 per cent of the scholarships are reserved for the Bumiputeras.
 
The Bumiputeras have hit back, saying that it's racist to suggest that they would not have gotten the scholarships anyway without the quota.
 
There are also accusations from all quarters that children of those with the right political connections will get the scholarships, even when their results are inferior.
 
Removing any possibility of scoring a flood of A's levels from the playing field could potentially lessen the political implications for the ruling Barisan Nasional.
 
But there is a less cynical way to view the limiting of SPM subjects, because there are also many who have criticised the current obsession with academic results.
 
One blogger noted that these increasing numbers of A's meant nothing, saying that those who took so many subjects were often just repeating the same papers.
 
A student might take, for instance, pure science, general science and applied science — similar subjects that can help him score more A's, although he is not really learning anything new or useful.
 
"An academic kiasu-ness has no place in tertiary education, much less the real world," he said.
 
Others feared turning into "exam-crazy" Singapore. Indeed, the number of Malaysians who took more than 10 SPM subjects last year outnumbers the entire cohort of Singaporeans who sat for the O-levels (45,000 to 37,000, in case you were wondering).
 
Many agree with Mr Muhyiddin's view that limiting subjects will give the students more time to spend on extra-curricular activities, allowing them to become more well-rounded individuals.
 
A student with 10A's and a good record in extra-curricular activity is more deserving of a scholarship than someone with 18A's that spends all his time buried in his books, they argue.
 
Malaysian-born, US-based surgeon and social commentator Bakri Musa was more blunt, saying that taking 20 subjects was "ridiculous".
 
He pointed out that a matriculating American high school student sits for seven subjects at most, while the renowned International Baccalaureate only offers six to eight.
 
Dr Bakri also disagrees with those who feel that someone with 20 A's should automatically get a scholarship over another with fewer distinctions.
 
"They are ascribing to the SPM a degree of precision it does not deserve. The SPM has yet to prove itself as a valid instrument in the first place," he wrote on his blog.
 
Although the announcement has been made, the Education Ministry has said that they will still be seeking feedback from the public this week.
 
The ministry will draw up a working paper next week, to be brought to the Cabinet for deliberation.